Reigning champions Ivory Coast launch their Africa Cup of Nations title defense on Wednesday when they face Mozambique in a Group F opener at the Grand Stadium of Marrakech, carrying both expectation and history into a tournament that has rarely been kind to reigning holders.
The Elephants arrive in Morocco determined to buck a long-standing trend: no defending champion has retained the AFCON crown since Egypt in 2010.
For the Ivory Coast, winners on home soil in 2023 after a dramatic 2-1 victory over Nigeria in the final, the challenge is not just to start well, but to prove their triumph was the
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